This invention relates to a packaging assembly for electronic mechanisms.
Until recently, electronic components were rarely used on automotive vehicles, because they were inherently unreliable and were inherently subjected to a rather severe operating environment. For example, electronic components used on vehicles must be subjected to vibration, dirt, and temperature differentials varying over an extremely wide range. However, more recently, electronic devices have been more widely accepted for use on automotive vehicles. For example, adaptive braking systems are now required on all air braked trucks. These adaptive braking systems must respond to speed signals generated by wheel speed sensors and make electronic decisions to control vehicle braking. Since these devices are customarily mounted near the axles of the vehicle which they control, and are subjected to the adverse environment on the underside of the vehicle, electronic components must be packaged to insulate them from the vibration inherent in this environment, from the dirt and road spray which is almost constantly thrown upon them, and from the wide range of temperature differentials inherent in truck operation during all seasons of the year. The package assembly disclosed in the present application is designed to protect electronic circuit boards from vibration, seal the boards from contamination and accommodate the effects of thermal expansion of the components. This is accomplished by providing flexible connections between the terminals on the circuit board and the terminals on the housing to which other components of the system are connected, so that the flexible connections dampen vibrations which would otherwise be transmitted directly to the circuit board, and which also accommodate thermal expansion. The entire assembly is then sealed in a potting gel, to protect the components from environmental contaminants. The terminals carried by the housing are studs to which the electrical leads may be easily connected, and the studs are designed and attached to the housing in such a way that forces applied to the studs when the leads are connected and disconnected are not transmitted to the circuit board.